Long time no see, guys. This past year was incredibly rough, thanks to the 'Samjae' (three years of bad luck) energy of Korean folk beliefs. With the economy down, my clients' workloads dropped, so I was busy running around trying to keep my team fed. In the middle of that, I dealt with paperwork for my father's bankruptcy, a lawsuit over insurance money, and some prick who ran off with my money (he's a famous scammer, but I didn't know...). I reported the wage theft to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, but the inspector was so incompetent that I’ve filed for an administrative trial. Between that and handling issues with our apartment complex administration, I have no idea how the year passed. I just woke up and realized I'd aged another year. Whether in carpentry or daily life, I try to stay wary of getting stuck or stubbornly sticking to old ways. I turned 43 this year, and my goal is to live without being called a 'kkondae' (preachy old man). So lately, I've been trying every AI available—ChatGPT, Gemini, you name it. They’ve actually been a huge help in handling the stuff I mentioned earlier. But using AI, I found some annoying points (I mostly use ChatGPT, so I'll explain based on that).

To be honest, ChatGPT is great at organizing my rambling thoughts and helping me figure out what needs to be done. But the more I used it, the more inconvenient it became. Even if I set it to say 'I don't know' when it doesn't know, it doesn't always follow through. When it misunderstands my intent, it gives feedback in the totally wrong direction. Crucially, when the conversation gets long, it loses the context. Especially the memory issue. I know cloud-based AI doesn't store my personal info, but from my perspective, I keep thinking, 'Why do I have to explain the same shit to this guy again?' It feels like if I open a new tab, the 'guy' I was talking to clocked out and some new employee walked in to take over. So, while wondering if there's a way to use AI like a true personal secretary, I discovered 'Local AI.' Right now, I'm using Qwen-32B (think of 'B' as the memory capacity or intelligence level. For personal PCs, 70B is the realistic limit. I'm no AI expert, so if you disagree, you're probably right). This guy doesn't store my info either since it's an AI, but if you set it up using Python, it saves important info or memories to my own computer. Every time I start a new chat, it automatically scans that memory and my info first. It’s not as smooth as ChatGPT, but it’s amazing for logging or pulling up my schedule, settlement details, and legal/administrative records. It even creates Excel files for me.

The schedule management looks something like this.

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I can even send stuff via KakaoTalk while I'm out (as long as my main PC is on) to record things. For an old guy like me, this is a whole new world. I've been having so much fun playing with AI that I'm losing track of time like a 'Shinseon' (Taoist immortal). Also, I usually do basic blueprints, but I wanted to try rendering too. I’m planning a business to create and sell renderings using AI, so I bit the bullet and bought a new PC. (Actually, I just wanted to flex the computer. Sorry to the Gaebung-ies who came here expecting a carpenter with an AI robot arm flying around with a nail gun.)

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It's a bit of a mess—in a bit more time, it'll look like a homeless person lives here—but it's my workshop, and I try to maintain it. The PC specs are: RTX 5090, X870E Hero, Ryzen 9 7950X, G.Skill DDR5-6000 CL30 128GB RAM (Full Bank). Samsung SSD 990 Pro 2TB & 4TB, and a Corsair ATX3.0 1200W PSU. It cost exactly 10.3 million KRW (~$7,700). For funding, I gave my gold bracelet to my wife as collateral and promised to pay it back in a lump sum once I start making money from rendering. She approved it at a low interest rate after I knelt down and signed a 'body parts waiver.' Anyway, what I want to do with this PC is: 1. AI Rendering. My goal is to do the primary rendering based on actual floor plans using SketchUp or V-Ray, then use AI to change the finishes, materials, and styles for sale. I'm aiming for a process with minimal intervention through automation via Local AI. From the perspective of consumers or contractors doing self-interiors, blueprints are nice, but seeing actual renderings significantly reduces disagreements during the finishing stage. Even when I'm doing the construction, having a rendering makes it easier for the workers.

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This is a rendering I had made back when I posted about my house renovation two years ago (I didn't make this one). I'm aiming for this level of quality for the ones I'll produce and sell. 2. AI Secretary. Like I said, semi-automating things like schedule management and labor/expense tracking would be so convenient. Actually, it already is. But it turns out this part doesn't really require high PC specs. 3. Other AI Tasks. My philosophy in carpentry and life is that there's nothing cheap and good, but there are things that are expensive and worth the price. We're heading into an era where it's hard to talk about life without AI, so I figured my hardware needs to back me up if I want to find ways to utilize it (read: I just wanted a really expensive PC). Whether I can actually pull this off with my old body is another story... but bottom line, I don't believe the hype that AI will change your life. However, if you ask if we can live without AI in the future, I think that's impossible. Things have been pretty tough mentally and physically lately, so I just wanted to ramble a bit. If you're curious about carpentry or AI, feel free to ask. There are some carpentry photos on my Instagram if you want to visit (moksupark4488). Next time, I'll write a more serious carpentry post. Also, do you guys like cats?

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I had to recruit him in a hurry and used treats to lure him, so it looks a bit forced. (Sorry, I'm a capitalist dad...) Anyway, Happy New Year everyone!